


Redemption is a Strange Thing...

by Beware_The_Tristero



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adventures in pregnancy, Alien Cultural Differences, Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha Sendak, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Begging, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Biting, Bonding, Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Canon-Typical Violence, Culture Shock, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit for a reason!, Family Bonding, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, From Sex to Love, Galra Dad, Graphic Descriptions of Sex, Heat Sex, Knotting, Kolivan and Sendak are brothers, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Noble Sendak, Omega Shiro (Voltron), Other pairings TBA - Freeform, Pack Bonding, Poor Coran, Poor allura, Reverse Sexual Slavery?, Rough Sex, Self-Lubrication, Shendak, Shock Collars, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Topping from the Bottom, Weird Biology, Yaoi, attempted humour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-05-01 18:38:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14526726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beware_The_Tristero/pseuds/Beware_The_Tristero
Summary: In partial thanks to the emotional stress of seeing Lance so badly hurt and being defeated by Sendak before managing (at the last second and in no small thanks to Pidge and the Mice) to best him, Shiro’s hormones decide that, sure, now is agreattime to trigger hisheatand blow the cover of him being an alpha.Unable (read,unwilling) to drag the team (his pack,his kids) into yet another mess (and so soon after take-off, their mission to save the Universe burgeoning out before them), he takes to his room with an ill-made excuse and seals himself away.However...Shiro has never encountered aheatand, as though making up for lost-time, his body ensures he pays for it; scenting his distress, the Mice alert Allura who has Coran access the bio-scanners (built into every Paladin suite) of their leader’s room.If the omega doesn’t sate his needs with an alpha and a knot, then he could slip into a shock-induced coma and perish; with no mature alpha onboard and no machine or healing pod able to help him, Team Voltron only have one, horrific,unthinkablesolution to the problem...Or,Tristero gives Sendak an incrediblyslashyRedemption-Arc.





	1. A terrible choice to make...

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own (or claim to own) any of the characters/their likenesses or settings featured in this non-profit piece of fiction. I am merely using them for my own entertainment (and hopefully the entertainment of others).

“But... I don’t understand” Allura murmured, her expression growing more worried by the second as she and her Paladin’s crowded around the firmly locked doors of Shiro’s room. “Alpha, beta and omega dynamics are considered rare even within the Galra and their expansive, diverse race” she admitted before quirking an eyebrow at the young humans huddled together. “Did you not think it pertinent to inform either myself or Coran that your genders were so... so... _volatile_?” she asked, her cheeks heating delicately as a desperate _keen_ rippled through the barrier they observed, the holo-panels flashing up a warning or two.

“Tch, it’s not as though we knew about aliens in general before last week” Keith interjected, his tone harsh with worry. “We know no other way of living... hell, all of the animals on Earth follow the same gender-profile with only a few odd exceptions in the oceans” he added whilst flicking a look at Hunk and Pidge who were nodding along with him.

“Ah... I see” the Princess said, her expression now closer to sheepish; “I am sorry... I keep forgetting how sheltered your peoples have been from the wider, universal community” she apologised before another cry had them all snapping their heads to Shiro’s room.

“Is there not an alpha amongst you who can, you know...”

“A-ah... it’s not that simple” Hunk said through a cough, his own cheeks enflamed. “Alphas don’t reach sexual maturity until they turn twenty-one, so even if Lance was healed, neither he nor Keith are... um... _able_ to help Shiro right now” he furthered whilst their resident hot-head slammed his fist into the formerly pristine, white wall out of frustration. 

Coughing again (and diverting attention away from the clearly pining young man; Keith would have to thank him for that, later), Hunk pointed at himself. “I’m a beta, so no luck there and, since I can’t actively scent Coran, I’m sure he’d be a similar classification and... um, well, even if Pidge wasn’t underage, she’s a femme, just like you” he said, his words causing their shortest Paladin to baulk.

“ _Hunk_?! How the hell did you know that? I’m taking beta-supplements and...”

“ _Hey!_ ” Keith cut in, his eyes narrowed on a flashing-vermillion icon; “we don’t have time for this” he snapped whilst waving a hand at their (feigning surprise) hostess. “What does this mean?” he asked, his arms folding with a scowl when more sounds of discomfort and distress flitted into the corridor.

“Umm... oh... oh _no_ , this is terrible” the flaxen haired royal murmured, her fingers flying over the screens; “Shiro’s vitals are deteriorating rapidly... at this rate he’ll...” she breathed, her pink-accented irises narrowing before she opened up her comms. “Coran, have you found anything useful in the archives?”

“I’m afraid not, Princess” the older Altean replied from the Castle’s extensive library whilst he and the Mice continued to bring up screens of their own or prize open books which were caked with ten-thousand years worth of dust. “Everything that King Alfor has is purely to do with Galran physiology and, sadly, most of that data concerns the standard male, female genealogy... hmm, it seems that the Druids held the alphas and omegas of their kind as sacred beings and kept what they knew about them to themselves” he sighed.

“Damn it!” the Red Paladin hissed; “can one of your pods be, I don’t know, calibrated to trigger my _rut_ early?” he asked, his form positively bristling with how useless he felt.

“Don’t even think it!” Coran yelped across the open channel; “even if such a procedure was possible, any number of terrible things could happen to you and then we’d be down two pilots instead of one!” he reminded before taking a breath, his form stiffening next to the huge, gleaming bench he’d been leaning over. “I know that you’re worried, Shiro is important to all of us” he began, his eyes narrowing with resolve as he swallowed thickly; “that’s why I don’t say what I’m about to without any great thought or sense of feeling” he said, his right hand bringing up an image that made him cringe.

“Commander Sendak is an alpha...”


	2. Heat...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
> 
> For more information on my take of A/B/O dynamics and omegas/heat, please see the first chapter of my FrostIron fic 'To the Sowing of Seeds'. I, ugh, got a little obsessed over my bullshit biology when I first got into writing this style of fiction...
> 
> It really shows...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Warning: SMUT AHOY! Full on heat sex which includes: rimming, rutting, biting, knotting, begging, bonding and incredibly graphic descriptions in general!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Also, some may see this as dub-con as both are under the influence of hormones and so, if you don't like that kind of thing then PLEASE skip this chapter!**
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy ; 3

Grunting, his organic eye staring blearily at his surroundings (his artificial ocular device had been disabled along with the A.I. which operated it); the last things he remembered revolved around the _Paladins_ of Voltron, a force-field he couldn’t penetrate and a defeat which meant his eternal banishment from the Empire.

Scowling thunderously, the Galran attempted to flex his prosthetic to find, instead of a surge of quintessence, joints and tendons which flexed and moved more _naturally_ greeted him as he snapped his head to glare down at the limb.

It was metal, similar in size to his real arm and... Altean.

 _Definitely_ Altean...

“What is the meaning of this?!” he hissed, his attention zeroing in on the determined (and angry) looking people surrounding the cryo-pod he’d been locked in. “You dare imprison and mock me?! I may no longer be welcome in Lord Zarkon’s Court but I am _still_ a warrior and I...”

“ _You_ are going to help us” Keith stated, his tone as blunt as it was cutting; “can you feel that _pretty-necklace_ you’re wearing? Go on, you can touch it” he added, his eyes narrowing when the purple-furred creature grunted and touched the _collar_ cuffing his neck with claw-extended fingers.

“ _What- arrgghhh!_ ”

Snarling, his legs buckling to stumble him back into the wall of his prison, Sendak’s fangs lengthened in pure, unadulterated rage; “I will tear the lot of you limb from bloody limb!” he promised, the yellow of his eye flashing amber. “You will _rue_ the day that you...”

“Should we shock him again?” Hunk asked.

“ _Don’t you fuckin-_ ”

“Pidge?”

“ _Yaaahhhh!!_ ” the Galran screeched, his face alight with pain and electricity as the youngest femme smirked, her index finger reluctantly pulling away from the small holo-pad mounted on the arm-guard of her Paladin suit. 

“Okay... so, _back_ to the _you helping us_ thing” the beta said, his form completely nonplussed as he regarded the panting alpha; “you know all that pain you’re in? Well... that’s kind of the tip of the iceberg” he continued, his right brow quirking when the alien snarled at him. “Hell, if we wanted, we could probably burn your head _clean_ off your neck, just like that” he furthered with a shrug, a wink at their youngest member causing her to _smile_ at their enemy in a way that had his fur bristling. 

“I see” the oldest being spat, his legs straightening as he stood at his full-height; “do your worst for I would _rather_ die than assist you” he stated, his face set in grim determination.

“Tch, enough of this!” Keith snapped, his baynard activating; he levelled it dangerously near the Commander’s throat. “You **will** help us whether you want to or not” he insisted, the purple of his eyes sharpening before he looked to Allura and Coran. “He won’t have a choice once we get him into Shiro’s room... if their alphas are anything like ours then any thought processes will be overridden by testosterone” he added before returning to glare at (the now bewildered) Sendak. 

“The collar is a precaution and a way to deal with you when it’s over...”

“Feh! You mean to sacrifice me to your _Leader’s_ blood-lust, do you?” he sneered; “has he become so desperate to kill?”

“ _Shut. **Up**_ ” the blade-wielder ground out, his hand moving to the deactivation-pad. “Now, are you going to come with us quietly or am I going to have to drag you?”

“Ha! The second you remove this force-field it’ll be over for you! So open it if you dare!” the Galran chuckled harshly, his hands clenched into fists as he readied himself to...

“Pidge?”

The pain was so brilliant that it blinded him into the darkness, his whole-world spinning until he crashed into the ground with a thud.

Then, he knew no more...

~*~*~*~

Grunting, the ringing in his fur-lined ears doing little to ease the nervous tension he’d been storing, Sendak struggled to pull himself into a sitting position against the wall he could feel against his back; staring glibly into the darkened room, he took a deep breath to centre himself.

The air around him was thick, _sweet_...

Blinking, the Galran drank in another lungful, his nose twitching before a sound (distinctive, _desperate_ ) snapped his head toward an alcove to the left of him, his eye widening in time with the slackening of his angular jaw-line.

For, within the alcove was a bed, a bed which supported an omega, an omega _in heat_...

“By the _Ancients_...” he hissed, his sore neck twisting so that he could _stare_ ; “what kind of... _vile trickery_ is this?” he growled, his legs kicking him up to a stand whilst the pheromones exuding from the whimpering creature did their best to unwind his sanity and unfurl his baser, primal instincts.

“No tricks” the Red Paladin called from _somewhere_ ; “Shiro is in a bad way” he furthered, his tone tense and terse. “So just... _just_ hurry up and help him” he demanded angrily; “we’re running out of time...”

“Oh, but this is some strange madness you’ve daubed me with” Sendak sneered, his body (by its own accord) edging ever closer to the naked, shuddering body sprawled out so wantonly across the dishevelled mattress. “You’d have me believe that you’re _gift-wrapping_ the most sacred of all beings for me to _take_ without undergoing trials? And that it is your leader, the _alpha_ Champion of Zarkon’s arena?” he laughed, his voice on the verge of hysterical. “Ha! You _Alteans_ and your alchemy... you’ll not have me fall under...”

“ **Hey!** No one gives a shit about you and your stupid hang-ups, ok? I don’t want you to be in there! I _don’t want you **touching** him_ ” he seethed; “but I _can’t_ help him like you can so... so for _fuck’s sake_ , just...”

“ _Ahhh..._ ”

Blinking, his form throwing itself to kneel at the omega’s side, the Galran found his flesh hand resting atop the (deliciously burning) lower-back; at the touch, the younger, slighter male arched and moaned, his mouth parted as he panted and looked (unseeingly) toward the purple being.

“ _A-alpha_?” he breathed softly, a tinge of pain lacing the word.

“Omega” the older rumbled, a spike of desire lancing him with a greater potency and precision than any weapon he could hope to beat; “shh, shh, shh” he soothed, his arms working in tandem to remove his armour and strip away his black under-suit. 

Then, fully unclothed, Sendak remained kneeling, his eye appraising the tanned, scarred _perfection_ laid out like a sacrifice, an _offering_ fit for hands far more worthy than his own; he licked his lips, a carnal hunger rising up to swallow him whole.

“ _P-please... please... I..._ ”

“Shh...” he murmured, his gaze sweeping from an unmarked, pheromone glistening neck (untouched, the mating glands beading up, their perfume signalling the other’s fertility, inviting a bonding bite), down a toned, muscular back to a firm, parted rump and a pool of rich, creamy _slick_ collecting there.

A low, _possessive_ growl rippled up and out of him as he prowled to lie atop the trembling figure, his cock hard, _aching_ and arching towards his abdomen.

A small part of him warred against what he was about to do; this omega hadn’t been courted, hadn’t been _prepared_ and was so much smaller, more _compact_ than the omega’s of his own kind.

However...

The scent permeating the air around him, the _taste_ of it promised familiarity, _compatibility_ and soon that quiet voice of warning, of _reason_ was drowned out by the demands of his hind-brain; this omega was his and he would carry his offspring, secure his legacy.

“Your scent grows sweeter with each tic, _Takashi_ ” he rumbled and the younger man had to agree... 

_God_ , he’d never had a _heat_ and oh how he _hated_ the feeling of his anus collapsing to accommodate the almost painful widening of the slick-rich rutting channel; the sensation of vanilla scented slick lapping at his cheeks, lubricating them was making him cringe in a combination of embarrassment and desperation.

He was horny, burning and utterly mortified; it seemed as though, for the millionth time, he was cursing himself for being born in this ridiculously weak, overly-sensitive body; oh why... Why had his injection failed? He was supposed to heat and hormone free for the next four years...

“Shh, shh... I will not harm you... I swear upon my life and my honour...”

“F-f-f...” Shiro tried to say before a gentle stroke of a hand across his face (meaning to calm) quieted him, it then dipped down and cupped the juncture between his neck and shoulder where the clever, battle-worn fingers began to knead the mating glands beading up there. 

“Umm... so you are _untouched_ ” the alpha commented, his tone coated with pleasure as he stared down into the omega’s half-turned gaze, his smirk softening; “you may have been my enemy once, but that means nothing now...” he added, a wave of hunger eating up his features as his hand hovered millimetres away from goose-pimpled, tan skin. 

“I will endeavour to earn you, to earn the _gift_ of our union” he furthered as his hand travelled south, finger curving  
under a hip-bone and questing for the curls of hair encircling a rapidly reddening member pinned against the mattress, uselessly beading precum.

“Soon, all you shall feel is pleasure... and the swell of _my_ knot inside you” he added through a purr that was more a growl whilst he pulled his flesh hand away to allow a keen index and middle finger (claws thoroughly retracted) to brush against the human’s entrance. 

“ _A-ahh... oh... p-please..._ ”

“Shh... you must relax... give into your nature...” he murmured gruffly before, (upon reflection) a bit too harshly, he jabbed the digits at the entrance, the motion causing Shiro to yelp and jolt, his heat prone body twisting whilst a moan escaped his lips. 

This transformed into an all out cry of pleasure when the tips breached him and _swirled_ before delving further, their motion allowing for more slick to slide itself into the open air as they surged forward; Sendak barely managed to stop himself from breaking the seal that assured the omega’s purity.

Whimpering when the fingers began to stretch the hyper-sensitive flesh of his rutting channel, the younger being struggled weakly whilst the Galran increased the motions, his muscle corded form easily covering him and pressing him into the foam-based mattress.

“A-h...ahh! I...”

“I can wait no longer” the alpha suddenly declared, his tone almost as wrecked as his expression. “I will have you now... struggle not, speak not for fear of spurring me on” he warned, his nostrils flared and pupils fully dilated.

’Thing is...’ Shiro thought blearily, the departing fingers giving him one final, thorough stroke. ’ ‘M not so sure I’d want to... to stop you... is it so wrong that I want you to keep going... no one’s ever done this to me before...’ his boiled-brain continued whilst he huffed, the full weight of the warrior pressing on him stealing the air from his lungs.

Why the hell had he been denying himself this?

Regarding his prize carefully, Sendak swallowed; he’d heard many an Elite, those of Zarkon’s inner-circle, brag about the effects an omega could have, even on a hardened warrior... but, by the Ancients, he’d never believed himself to be so easily bewitched, so happily ensnared by doe-eyes, pinked lips and enticingly spread legs...

He certainly could not recall becoming so hard when in the company of femmes; why, even other Commanders, in all of their strength and battle fervour, had only ever tempted him to bed on a few occasions and yet... Looking at this slender creature, his bronzed form prone, panting, a living painting for him to devour... Sendak found himself thinking that, once he’d sunk into the depths of those eyes, tasted his slick, plugged him with his knot, he’d never again crave another’s flesh...

Snarling possessively, he worked his way down until he knelt between those quivering thighs before using his hands to gently turn the human over; the few scars he'd spotted only added to their owner's carnal beauty.

Then, grinning (and with little effort) he snatched up the omega’s thighs and pulled his unresisting body upwards to give the purpling shaft a long, wet lick. Then, the younger man’s cries adding fuel to the already raging fire building inside of him, he snatched the pearl of pre-cum bubbling at the tip before moving lower. Breathing in the musk deeply, his eyes rolling back, the Commander leaned forward, his tongue darting out to sample the perfumed slick smearing the entrance his own member was so keen to be swallowed by...

“ _S-S-S-en_!”

Growling, he pressed his tongue against the entrance before pushing in deeper, his taste-buds singing as they were met with the delicious nectar oozing from the orifice; taking long, leisurely laps, Sendak felt his chest rumble with pleasure even as the omega he held wriggled and writhed, his legs kicking about uselessly at broad shoulders.

Then, his shaft demanding its long-promised reward, the violet alpha took one final lick before lowering the other back to the bed and turning him; he wanted to rut, no, he _needed_ to rut, to dominate, to _knot_...

Licking his suddenly parched lips, the sight of the man’s scar-less back filling him with a sense of pride, the Commander began pulling at the other’s slender hips, raising his rump and helping to further spread the supple thighs he’d been kneading moments before. 

“ _P-please_...”

Settling behind the mewling creature he’d ensnared, the Galran carefully took hold of his purpling length, his right hand carefully holding it whilst his left rested on the omega’s hip; slowly, his self-control at breaking point, his knot already building, the alpha pressed the swollen tip at the puckered entrance. Then, a breath sucking between clenched teeth, the fur-coated alpha pushed steadily forward, his keen gaze watching as the reddened circle struggled to consume him.

Grunting at the initial resistance, the stronger male butted and jutted against the slickened orifice before baring his teeth and thrusting; his prize yowled when the helm sank into the dizzying heat, the rest of his member following until his reached the membrane that would be torn by him and him alone.

“ **Mine** ” he breathed as he leaned forward, his arms bracing and securing the slighter shoulders of the omega beneath him, his mouth latching onto the beading mating glands; at the relieved sigh which relaxed the younger man, the Galran slammed his rut extended fangs deep into the human’s neck as his hips rushed forward. 

Snarling, Sendak allowed his eye to fully roll back as the tight, insatiable heat engulfed him and sucked him in deep; licking and thoroughly enjoying the rich, adrenaline spiked taste that swirled around his mouth, the older began a slow, _deep_ rhythm. The omega’s stuttered cries made for the most beautiful music as he continued to rock, his hips pressing in deeper with each hip jarring movement, his hands tightening to the point of bruising until he could take no more.

Locking his jaw, the younger man’s cry like a siren’s call, the Commander started to slam against the soft cheeks of his conquest's rump, his knot becoming harder and thicker with each snap of his hips; then, his eye widening, he angled the omega’s body and thrust for all he was worth.

“Ahh! Ahh! _Aaahhhh_!”

Roaring, his right hand jamming under the mattress to hastily tug at the omega’s weeping member, Sendak clenched his teeth and, using the momentary lessening of the tightness around him, the stronger male rotated his hips and vigorously rubbed his knot against the slick until, with one hard push that had Shiro wailing, the Galran finally sank into the heat that engulfed him with all the force of a starved mouth.

Huffing, the taller of the pair somehow managed not to collapse upon the omega as the dark haired male came a second time, his rutting channel clenching and milking the knot it’d captured as his member leaked cum onto the bed.  
It was then, at the moment when they crashed, that Sendak knew he’d not be releasing his little human and that Zarkon would be _greatly_ displeased...

As his eyes fluttered closed, his arms curling possessively about the still trembling body beneath him, the alpha found that he could care less.

His allegiances, it seemed, were very much changed.


	3. The aftermath...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

“You... _you_ can’t be serious...” 

Two days had passed since Hunk and Keith and thrown Sendak into their Leader’s room, two whole days of wondering, worrying and monitoring the situation to ensure that the Galran did nothing other than _help_ their friend through a potentially fatal consequence of his gender.

Therefore, when the Commander emerged from Shiro’s room, his collar deactivated (“tch, did you truly expect such ancient technology to subdue me?”) with the slumbering omega curled in his arms and announced that he would join the Voltron Alliance, everyone (Mice included) fell to the floor in shock.

“You would turn my assistance away?” the magenta creature asked as they sat around the dinner-table; “then I believe I should merely request asylum, then” he shrugged, his flesh hand offering the dozing male another spoonful of the green-nutrient paste which he gladly accepted with a contented sigh.

“B-but you... and Shiro... and _Zarkon_ and...” Lance (having woken up from his cryo-sleep, freaked out, fought with Keith and joined him in prowling around the corridors) sputtered, his hands gesticulating wildly. “And... I’m sorry, but this is _really_ distracting me... is he ok? Did the _heat_ do something to his brain? Holy fuck! Were you too late or...”

“Hm? Do you know so little about your own kind, _child_?” Sendak snipped, another spoon presenting itself for the omega to take; “his body is going through what we refer to as the _haze_... he’ll be himself again as of next cycle” he relayed with a snort. “This is merely the result of his hormonal imbalance settling whilst his body adjusts to nurture the cub he’s carrying” he added when everyone within the chamber stared at him with increasingly enlarging eyes.

“Must you gawk so openly?” he sniffed before scooping up a mouthful for himself from the same spoon; “tch, it is as though none of you have seen a mated pair before” he furthered with a shrug, his face becoming more and more displeased when the other’s continued to gawk at him. 

“ _Mated... **pair**_?!” Keith close to screeched, his body standing so quickly that his chair tipped over and clattered onto the marbled floor; “you _bastard_! You were only meant to...”

“You think me so _villainous_ that I’d rut an omega like some heathen animal and abandon him and my get?!” the Galran cut in, his snarl menacing whilst he curled his _Altean_ arm more securely around _his_ yawning, sleepily blinking mate. 

“Well! Yeah!” both younger alphas called out in unison whilst Lance moved to stand and mirror Keith’s annoyed posture; “this was _not_ supposed to happen! You’re our enemy!” the longer haired of the two interjected.

“Damn-straight he is! You’re a guy who has, like, tried to kill us _several_ times!” the Blue Paladin reminded; “we can’t trust you in general, let alone not trust you to... oh, I don’t know, steal the Lions and use Shiro as a hostage!”

“Preposterous!” Sendak countered, his fangs flashing; “I could no sooner deliver my mate to someone who would cause him harm than _you_ could survive in space without an enviro-suit! I...”

“N’more yelling” a exhaustion softened voice yawned out, its presence causing everyone in the room to snap their attention to the Black Paladin who stretched lightly before curling more deeply into the Galran’s (thankfully amour-less) chest. “S’too loud... an’ he’s gonna stay, we’re gonna... gonna _beat_ Zarkon and he’ll help us do it... s’no more alpha shoutin’, okay?”

And, just like that, the whole room quieted; the matter, it seemed, was resolved and the meal resumed for, as a _pack_ , their omega’s rule was law.

Allura and Coran merely exchanged glances, shrugged and begrudgingly accepted that _this_ was happening.

This was happening...


	4. Making it work...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Waking up (sated, happy, _warm_ ) cuddled into some amazingly soft, lightly musked fluffy fabric and feeling as though he’d never be more safe, more secure then _right here_ was, Shiro thought, a weird way to wake up on the Castle of Lions.

However, with a yawn, a light stretch and a contented sigh, the human found that he could care less, until...

“You are well?”

Eyes snapping open, a trill of shock spurring him into action, the Black Paladin yelped and almost tumbled off his bed; a magenta, _furred_ arm tightening its grip about his waist was the only thing preventing him from face-planting the ground.

O-oh... oh _God_...

“Breathe... that’s it, _slowly_ ”

Swallowing thickly, the voice that his hind-brain identified as alpha, as _mate_ , rippled over him and soothed the panic that would have (ordinarily) spurred him into activating his Galra-implant, turning and smashing his fist into his attacker’s face.

Wait... 

“W-what’s going on?” he whispered, his eyelids screwing shut when a wave of dizziness had him slumping back against (what he now knew to be) a well-muscled, plush chest; “I... you... I don’t...”

“I am going to lay you on your back, alright?”

Trembling slightly (his psyche warring between common sense and damned, _stupid_ post-knotting omega contentment), Shiro felt himself nod and _manage_ to restrain the moan of pleasure he felt at being so gently handled by his mate. 

**His** _mate_...

“S-Sendak?” he murmured, the Galran now pressed (probably uncomfortably) against the cabin-bed’s wall as he looked down at him; “o-oh God... it was the _heat_ wasn’t it? Something wasn’t right...” he added, his eyes closing again with fatigue.

“A-and now I’m... you... _we’re_ ” he chuckled, the sound a little broken; “ _shit_... how in the universe did this happen? I was _never_ going to let an alpha take me, let alone _bite_ me and... wait” he said, his whole body freezing, his distress causing Sendak to grunt and jerk with worry.

“D-did you... _knot_ me?”

“I...”

“Oh fuck! You did, didn’t you? Of course you did! God! I probably begged you to, didn’t I?” the human gasped, his body moving to wrestle (a thoroughly stunned, blinking) Galra Commander onto the bed, his naked body straddling the other’s (equally bare) hips as he glared down at him, his quintessence hand activating.

Swallowing, the part of him that was a warrior, a _survivor_ demanding that throw the little up-start off and thrash him being _undeniably_ crushed by his alpha instincts (you never harmed your omega, they were _sacred_ ; if it was Shiro’s will that he die then so be it), Sendak braced himself for the worst.

But the blow never came; the glowing, purple fingers were, instead, gently clearing away a patch of fur which coated the juncture where his neck met his shoulder on the right-side. “I think that should do it” the younger murmured before leaning back, his face stern; “I want you to fuck me, right now, so we can solidify this bond” he stated, his words causing the Galran to baulk, his jaw loosening.

“Y-you’re accepting me?” he breathed, a shudder of want, need, _longing_ surging through him; “but you...”

“Look” the omega huffed, his face determined; “this isn’t going to be easy, this isn’t what either of us have ever wanted _but_ it’s done, I can _feel_ you in my head and now I’m... well” he broke off, an expression of vulnerability creasing him (and making Sendak want to wrap him up in his arms) as he flesh hand touched his (still toned) abdomen. “I’m carrying the child we made” he said before, another u-turn of emotions causing the Commander to choke with shock, the glowing hand returning to his neck; “and I’m _not_ doing this by myself!”

“I-I... I would never...”

“And then there’s Voltron and the Empire to worry about” he seethed, his eyes narrowing; “I’m not going to be able to pilot Black in a few months time which is going to put us at a severe disadvantage” he furthered, his right brow quirking. “So you _are_ going to help us out by pinpointing targets to destroy and you _are_ going to advise us and engage in our battles against Zarkon until his Empire topples and we free all of those he’s enslaved, do you understand?”

“Y-yes, I have already spoken with the Altean Princess...”

“ _Allura_ ” the younger insisted, his face smoothing out to allow a gentle smile to tug at his lips; “huh, so that wasn’t a dream, you have been eating meals with them... good” he sighed before, with a stretch, he deactivated his arm and ran his fingers across the soft tufts a of fur coating the other’s chest, his smile deepening at the purr his motions caused.

They could make this work, he decided, they could make this great.


	5. Galra-dad...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Adopting a pack made up of humans, Alteans and one hot-blooded hybrid was, Sendak would admit, not _entirely_ terrible.

“Hey! What have I told you about touching my stuff, huh?!”

Well, _most_ of the time...

Sighing, his hulking form having walked in on yet another argument between the two juvenile alphas, the former Commander sucked in a breath and replayed, in his mind, Takashi’s words to him the _last time_ he’d picked them up by their scruffs and locked them in cryo-pods to cool off.

‘ _What? You can’t just _put them away_ when they annoy you, Sendak... Now go on, get them out and try to _talk them through_ what’s happened... and don’t you look at me like that, mister... Just think of this as practise for when our own kids are acting up, I mean, you’re not going to put them into stasis whenever they argue, right?_ ’

The pluralisation of the noun ‘kid’ (which wasn’t, as his translator had so wrongfully stated, an infantile-goat) had filled him with such delirious pleasure (his mate _desired_ multiple offspring with him) that he’d fished the pair out of their punishment and gladly sparred with them in the training room until they both broke down and apologised. 

However, this issue seemed to be a little more challenging than last time.

“It wasn’t me, you jerk! Why the hell would I even...”

Taking in a deep-breath, Sendak steeled himself and approached the bickering pair, their heads snapping towards him whilst their legs (which had been poised to continue the _ridiculous_ kicking match that’d been circling the Bridge if Coran’s look of exasperation was anything to go by) halted (at the sudden imbalance, the loudest human toppled).

“Ow! Ah! See what you’ve done?” Lance snapped whilst Keith smirked and loomed over him, his position smug; “ugh! And now someone’s sent _Galra-dad_ to check up on us... hey! _Hey_! Don’t go scampering away Coran! We all know it was you...”

“Just like you _know_ that I was the one who took your _precious_ space-rock?”

“Of course it was you!” the younger countered as he rolled to stand; “who else would...”

“I grow tired of this” the former Commander cut-in, his arms (sure, he missed the quintessence-deadly prosthetic the Druids had supplied him with; however, he could not hold, pet or _fondle_ his mater if he still had it and so he wasn’t too perturbed) crossing whilst he levelled them with an unimpressed look. “What causes you to quarrel now?”

“Keith is a lying, cheating little sneak! That’s what!” the slightly younger hissed; “when we attacked and destroyed that top-secret Galra base last week Hunk found a pile of crystallised quinte-what-ever and gave me a piece” he furthered, his anger strengthening when the hybrid rolled his eyes. “Now it’s gone and Keith is the _only_ guy we know who can touch that stuff and absorb it...”

“Tch! So I what? Broke into your room and ate it? Is that what you’re saying?!”

“There! You see! He’s admitted it!” the Blue Paladin almost crowed, his right hand pointing dramatically; “nobody said _anything_ about eating it!”

Looking from the pair (who were edging closer to each other once more) to the long-suffering Altean (who seemed to be _twitching_ a little less around him), Sendak huffed out a: “quintessence is ethereal in nature so it has more than likely evaporated into particles” he said, his words stopping another shoving attempt. “Have you contacted the Yellow Paladin? Are his crystals similarly missing?”

“I, well! Ahh... ugh... huh” Lance sputtered, his anger melting away as he cocked his head to one side, regarded Keith with a narrow eyed glare, and made towards the exit; “Galra-dad better be right, mullet!” he called whilst ambling purposefully through the Bridge’s gleaming-white doors. “Cus if he isn’t, it’s on!”

“Ha! What’s on? Me kicking your ass?” the hybrid taunted whilst the slightly taller teen flipped him the bird as the oldest of the room’s occupants resisted the urge to do something that the Yellow (no- _Hunk_ , he reminded himself; Takashi always smiled that much brighter when he addressed their adopted cubs by their given names) may not thank him for. 

“You two have the potential to be great warriors and allies” he mused to the hybrid (whilst an increasingly more relieved Coran went back to his business; the comments about the Galran crystal almost _destroying_ the castle were also decreasing in frequency) who blinked at him.

“Tch, not when he...”

“However, legends say that Lor- _Zarkon_ (he was still getting used to the difference; thousands of years worth of loyalty and service could not be forgotten so easily _but_ the gentle breathing and acceptance of his mate was getting him there) and King Alfour held similar potential” he mused, his words causing Keith to pause, his smirk dropping.

“Perhaps, since your blood is of superior stock, you’d think on this before giving in to such childish fights in the future, Keithra” he furthered, a flicker of satisfaction sparking in him when the Red Paladin stiffened.

“Y-you... how did you, that name, that’s what my... but you _couldn’t_...”

“Your heritage is obvious” the older shrugged whilst turning to make his own way out; “the name, I suppose you couldn’t know, not if Takashi’s previous ignorance of Galrans is anything to go by” he added whilst the doors open, their eyes locking when he turned his head. "Hn, Keith and Keithra... quite the coincidence, wouldn't you say?"

"I..."

“Reflect on what I have said and, should you wish to speak to me further, you only need ask.”


	6. Favours...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Fidgeting with her glasses, her eyes sneakily glancing from the data-pad she’d been trying to study to the omega (his Galra-implant hand resting protectively over his abdomen) who’d just entered the Bridge, Pidge tried desperately not to give herself away, however...

“Hey Katie, you okay?”

Shiro wasn’t their first Space-Dad for nothing...

Swallowing (and quickly looking around to make sure that her fellow Paladins weren’t snooping anywhere nearby), the young femme pulled herself up and out of the control-station she’d been allocated to amble her way over to the twenty-four year old, her cheeks pinking slightly.

“Well...” she began, her hands wringing sheepishly behind her back; “I... um, it’s just... I’ve read so much about omegas and biology and” she stammered, the blush she wore deepening. “Not that I want to pry, or anything, but I was hoping, urgh, I mean wondering if you would... umm... let me monitor the baby... Ah! And you too, of course” she added, her voice pitching when the older human blinked at her. “I’ve unlocked so many great, totally non-invasive scanners and equipment from the Castle’s infirmary and I...”

“Whoa, Katie... that...”

“... just really, you know, want to make sure that you’re both alright because, well, my uncle on my mom’s side, he's an omega and sometimes, when he was carrying my cousins, he got really sick with stress and I...”

“...would be wonderful.”

Cutting herself short at his utterance, her eyes widening whilst the rest of her body seemed to deflate with a combination of joy and relief, the fourteen year old breathed out a; “really?”

Chuckling, his arms opening to allow her access, the Black Paladin hugged his youngest pack-mate warmly as she returned the gesture. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this Pidge... being mated and pregnant is tough enough without, you know, being in space and surrounded by crazy purple-people who want to steal my magic lion” he chuckled, his tone becoming more incredulous by the second as she laughed along with him.

It was actually crazy when you stopped to think about it...

Not as crazy, however, as what happened later that evening when the young scientist (her head already spinning with several ways to take the readings she’d need to ensure Shiro and his Galra-human child were healthy and well) was humming her way to the Green-Lion’s bay.

“I would have words with you, if I may?”

Yelping, her body jerking in shock (the Castle’s corridors were whisper quiet when they weren’t either actively chasing or being chased by Zarkon’s forces), Pidge spun to see their newest pack-member (who towered over everyone, sure, but her more so) approaching her, his face impassive.

“Umm... sure?” she replied through a thick swallow, her hands only twitching near her bayard (as opposed to grabbing it like she’d done during his first few days of freely roaming their space-ship-den; she was incredibly proud of herself for that (even as her hind-brain screamed at her to run).

“My mate has told me of your proposition” Sendak stated, his natural eye narrowing slightly as he stopped a good few feet away from the clearly nervous human (he’d have to work on that); “I wanted to pass on my thanks” he continued, his own posture relaxing when the young femme’s slight frame similarly eased.

“Oh? Err... um, sure, you’re welcome” she stated whilst timidly playing with her glasses in the way that his mate had assured him was endearing and not because she was injured or hurt.

Humans and their mannerisms; would he ever understand them?

“It is customary” he added; “in my culture to return a favour for a favour or a gift for a gift” he said, his flesh hand raising to tap his cyborg eye. “I have often caught you scrutinising this and, although I can offer you little explanation as I am merely its beneficiary, you are welcome to take what scans or data you would like from this ocular implant” he stated, his ears flattening when their (currently) youngest cub let out a squeal.

“Are you well, or...”

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Really?! You mean it?” the little femme cried, her legs rushing towards him as he stuttered and almost faltered; “oh wow! Wow! Here, just hold still while I...”

And, just like that, the former Commander of Zarkon’s most elite fleet, an alpha feared across the cosmos, found himself standing in a corridor of little remark with a happily chirping girl clambering all over him like a wild Vesliket, her hands touching, prodding and poking away around his sensitive ears and face whilst she scanned and took readings.

To his perplexed mind, the siren calling them to battle couldn’t have been more accurately timed...


	7. The Black Lion...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

The ten days following his initial mating and bonding with Sendak had been...

“Ah! How the fuck do they keep finding us!?”

 _Eventful_...

“Princess, we need to make a worm-hole jump quickly... the particle barrier... it’s not going to hold!”

After they’d attacked the quintessence manufactory, successfully destroyed it and gotten away _scot-free_ , Shiro had known (from the second Pidge and Hunk had hi-fived after the Castle sped away from what had looked like a simple docking-station) it’d be too good to be true.

“Do you people not have anything more effective than these paltry lasers and drones?!”

Then, after setting course for another strong-hold, they’d happened across Zarkon (on one of his rare, fleeting visits outside of Drule Central) with many yelling betrayal at an enraged Galran swearing his innocence. However, with the Emperor’s fleet attacking, they’d had little choice but to leave the argument for later as all Paladins rushed to their Lions, formed Voltron and, in a move that had shocked, terrified and bewildered them all...

The Black Lion pulled free from the Legendary Defender and spat a confused (and deeply hurt, worried) Shiro into space; if it hadn’t been for Keith’s intervention and Sendak’s knowledge helping Pidge to hack and stall the Galran-fleet, then Zarkon would have secured his former steed and Voltron would be lost.

Shaken (his _honeymoon_ period only lasting four days before that fateful incident), the omega had struggled to comprehend his Lion’s rejection even as his pack and mate rallied around him; unfortunately, their reprieve was startlingly brief.

Within a day, Zarkon and a much large fleet (complete with his own, personal battle-station) had _jumped_ straight to their location...

“Pidge! On your right!”

“Got it!”

“Hunk, below you!”

“I see ‘em!”

The last six days had followed the same, disastrous pattern.

“Paladin’s recall your drones” Allura ordered, her blue life-force surging up and around the command-console; “I’m going to put everything I have into this next worm-hole so, if the Ancients’ are with is, we should jump at least ten galaxies away” she called whilst the humans and hybrid did as requested.

“Shit, Allura, be careful” Lance warned quietly, his tone thick with concern.

“I will be fine” she assured, her eyes momentarily closing; “Coran? Set the coordinates...”

“Yes Princess!” the oldest Altean called, his hands making vast, sweeping gestures; “hold on to your cartooshes!” he added as, with final smack of his palm, the worm-hole swirled to life before them and whisked them away.

It couldn’t have happened a moment too soon...

Yowling, howling, falling and sprawling, all members of the Voltron Alliance struggled to hold-out against the gravitational forces exerting on them until, to their collective relief, the Castle remerged into space, allowing them to sag numbly into the ground.

“Ugh... jeez, I haven’t been _this_ queasy since I last rode shot-gun in the Blue Lion” Hunk moaned from where he awkwardly lay in his Paladin bay, the Mice (their eyes swirling dazedly) scattered across his heaving torso.

“Hey... I take... exception... to that...” Lance whined, his body tangled with Keith’s with a virtually passed-out Coran sprawled over them.

“Is everyone alright?” Shiro called from the safety of Sendak’s embrace (somehow, the former Commander was the only one who’d remained standing), his own arms still clutching Pidge whilst his worried gaze flitted to Allura’s kneeling form. 

“I _will be_ when these two bastards get off of me!” Keith hissed, his form flailing.

“I’m good, thanks to you guys” Katie breathed as their leader released his grip; “damn, we must be thousands of lightyears away by now” she murmured whilst wobbling her way to her set of controls as the mated pair approached Allura and helped her to stand.

“Ahh... it may not be far enough” the Princess sighed tiredly, her body (for the first time) not resisting Sendak’s support whilst he steadied her; “how in the Universe do they keep finding us?”

“Guys... I think it’s Black...” Shiro said, his tone soft and full of remorse when the room at large turned to regard him; “ever since Zarkon reached out to her, I’ve felt my connection weakening and, well, that would certainly explain how they seem able to pinpoint our location with such accuracy, wouldn’t it?” he sighed.

“Maybe... maybe I’m just not worthy of...”

“Don’t be ridiculous” his mate snorted, his flesh hand gripping the shorter male’s shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze. “Zarkon is millennia old, his powers, when loaded with quintessence, unfathomable _but_ bonds are such things made of stuff that someone with such a greedy, power-hungry soul could never hope to replicate” he stated, his tone gravely serious even as he offered a toothless smile.

“I should know the strength of such wonders, for I have been greatly changed by them, by _you_ , have I not?”

“Sendak...”

“If all is needed is a stronger bond then _that_ is what you should work on” he reasoned, a flash of his former coldness flaring as he began giving out orders; “the Princess must rest, the Castle must be fixed and _we_ are the ones to do it” he announced. “Now come, we may not have much time” he furthered, his tone even motivating the Mice into full attention as the group surged to their feet and started to move.

“Allura, I will escort you to your chambers if I may...”

“But, I can...”

“You _can’t_ assist our pack-mates thoroughly as you are” the Galran insisted; “I could always carry you if...”

“O-oh! Ah, no, _no_ that’s... that’s quite alright!” she floundered, her cheeks flaming as Shiro chuckled, Lance fumed and everyone else let out quiet chuffs of laughter and started towards the Bridge’s exit; with one hand on his offered arm, the Altean and Galran followed after them.

However, with so much sensor damage, the small, cloaked craft swooped to land upon the Castle undetected, its occupant scowling angrily as it did so...


	8. Oh Coran...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
> 
> **Warnings for this chapter: umm, a smidge of angst, I think...**

Skirting through the paltry defences the current Paladins had to offer, Ulaz was beginning to feel more and more perturbed; had he really blown his cover within the Empire and risked certain death to set that human free for _this_?

“Ahh~!! He’s not stopping!”

“Hang on Pidge!”

“Lance, move out of the way!”

“I’m trying to blast him! _You_ move out of the way, Mullet!”

“Guys! Knock it off! You’re going to hit her!”

Scowling at the humans (and a hybrid if his nose wasn’t mistaken) bungling around in his wake, the Galra snorted and detached the small femme’s tether before sprinting around another corner to find, with a blink, his neck snagged by the _last_ alpha he expected to see.

“Good job team!” Coran cheered from the speaker-system; “oh~ and to think that I was sceptical about the whole _pack-dynamics_ thing but, here you are, so in sync that you could ambush our intruder without even _talking_ to each other about it! Magical~!!”

Grumbling in tones ranging from sheepish to annoyed, the Paladin’s gathered around their sputtering _guest_ who was hanging from a distinctly nonplussed Sendak’s grip; they’d said no killing and, since his mate praised him both publically _and_ privately when he followed the rules, he supposed he could suffer on through.

It didn’t mean that he couldn’t squeeze the Blade’s neck a little tighter every time the _beta_ attempted to break his hold.

“Umm... can he breathe?” Hunk (ever the empathetic voice of the group; he’d have to do something about that if the boy was to survive in space) chimed-in, his body twitching whilst he flitted about the two aliens worriedly.

“Galran’s can survive for up to five minutes without oxygen-intake” their alpha responded with a shrug, his tone calm and decidedly bored.

“Huh, good to know, _but_ , how do you know this guy’s a Galra?” Lance asked, his right brow quirking quizzically at the luminous mask; “looks more like a techno Assissin's Creed cosplayer to me” he chuckled, his grin stiffening when the gathered people merely offered him bewildered glances.

“Whilst I may not know what a _cosplayer_ is, I _do_ know my own race when I scent them... and this, I think, is someone I know...” he murmured thoughtfully. “Yes, he’s of Hagar’s bunch if I’m not mistaken” he said, the distaste clear upon his features as he dropped the (no longer squirming) male to the floor, his Altean hand darting out to snag the deactivated blade before it could join their intruder upon the gleaming white of the floor. “Do not let your guard down” he warned, his eyes narrowing when the others tensed and watched as the mask retracted to reveal a deceptively nonplussed, lilac countenance; “state your designation and purpose.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, _Commander_ , but I am not one of your underlings...”

“Tch, I am a Commander no longer” Sendak countered imperiously whilst Shiro leaned a little closer towards him. “I am a member of the Voltron Alliance and an advisor to the Paladins and Princess Allura of Altea” he added whilst the assembled human’s preened and Coran made a strange, excited sound across the tannouy. 

“ _Ridiculous!_ ” the more slender Galran snarled before, to everyone’s surprise, his heated gaze snapped to a softly frowning Shiro; “when I freed you to retrieve the Blue Lion from your planet I did so to _stop_ the _Empire_ , not to allow you to hand Voltron over to Zarkon’s _favourite_!” he spat, his tone slathered with anger and betrayal. “I ought to have left you there to rot! You _ungrateful_...”

“ **Should you wish to keep that tongue in your head you will close your mouth this instant**!” Sendak snarled venomously; “address my mate in such a disrespectful manner once more and you’ll not live long enough to regret it” he added menacingly, his form looming over the beta in such a way that even Keith and Lance took a step back.

Messing with an angry pack-leader was one thing, but an alpha defending his mate was someone you should _never_ cross and even, from his posture deflating, their _guest_ seemed to know and accept that.

Then, after a pause, it fell to Coran to once more bust through the awkward tension with a: “so, Shiro, is this guy a part of your missing memories? Let’s hope he isn’t a _ex-lover_ for his sake, eh?”


	9. Identity...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Sometimes, Shiro lamented, being the Leader of Voltron just wasn’t worth the... wait, what _did_ he get for it, exactly?

“Holy shit! Look at him go~!! You’re awesome Galra-dad!”

Right now, as he looked on from the observation deck with his cheering pack, the omega was torn between face-palming and simply retreating to his quarters; why, out of all of the very reasonable, very _sane_ options he had voiced did _this_ have to be the solution?

“Ooh~ he’ll feel that one in the cajavs tomorrow!”

Sure, Sendak was right that, since both he and this _Ulaz_ were Galran, then they should exchange _information_ in a way dictated to them by their shared culture...

“Wow! Look how much pressure they’re exerting in those punches! My readings are charting off the scale!”

However, for his alpha mate (who’d gone very still after Coran’s little (not so helpful) outburst) to pick up the lilac coloured beta by his scruff, snarl out a phrase that only the Altean onlooker seemed to understand (by the _squeak_ he’d let fly over the speakers) and dragging him away to the training arena, well, that wasn’t what he’d considered conflict resolution. 

“Pshh, he’s not that tough... I nearly got him when we were sword-fighting a week ago...”

“Hah! That’s nothing, I shot his god-damned arm off after emerging from a _fucking_ coma!” 

“I thought that you couldn’t remember anything about that night?!”

“Guys, guys, come on, I can’t root for Galra-dad properly with the two of you starting your own brawl up here!” Hunk sighed before, with a blink, he took in the room at large; “hey, d’you know what we need? Snacks!” he crowed, his body all but leaping out of the door. “Don’t let them decide a winner until I get back!” 

How was this his life now?

Sighing, his body slumping into a chair at the side of the large viewing screens, Shiro took a deep breath and focused on trying to remember the beta who was currently being thrashed around the training ground like a rag-doll.

If only he could access his memories, if only there was a way to jog them to the front of his mind so they could stop all of this, this _senseless_ violence...

“Ouch! Heh, he’s gonna need a day or two in the healing pod to get over that one!”

“Shit! Look at that crazy-knife-dagger thing! I call cheating _right there_!” Lance hollered; “whoa! Watch your back there Galra-dad, he’s... hey! Keith, what the actual fuck, man?!”

Blinking out of his reprieve, the omega snapped his head up to watch their youngest alpha race towards the doors, his body bolting past a startled Lance and almost knocking Hunk (and his tray full of food) to the ground; “what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure” Katie responded whilst she and the Blue Paladin moved to help their beta pack-mate stablise himself; “Keith’s face did that thing it does when he’s about to go _full-emo_... ugh, I think it’s something to do with Ulaz’s knife...”

“He has a _knife_?!” Shiro baulked, his legs moving before he knew what was happening; “when did... how... oh! For the love of...” he scowled, his hands flying to the microphone: “alright, that’s it, the pair of you need to knock this off right now and Ulaz, so help me, put that weapon down before I use the lasers to blast it out of your hand...”

“Do not interfere!” Sendak cut in, his shoulders lifting and falling with exertion as he continued to bear his teeth at the (worse for wear) Blade; “you swore to me...”

“That was before he broke the rules and before _Keith_ decided he wanted to join in” the human tried to reason, his eyes narrowing; “I would never try to stop you from following your warrior’s code unless it was truly important, you know that, don’t you?”

Huffing, his body standing a little taller, the former Commander crossed his arms and levelled a glare at a disbelieving Ulaz; “you heard my mate, place your weapon aside...”

“You’re... being serious” the more slender of the two breathed, his lungs puffing out the air as (with reverence) he knelt to lay his deactivated dagger upon the floor; “I’d have never thought that you, of all people...”

“Tch, do not claim to know _me_ simply because you follow my brother” the taller male snorted; “that old fool and his warped sense of _valour_... heh, but even with his grim-pride I should imagine that my loss of title and status will give him no end of pleasure...”

“That’s where your wrong” the beta stated quietly; “I don’t think that there’ll be anyone more overjoyed to see you freed of Zarkon’s clutches” he added before, with a blink, both of them turned to see Keith dart through the training-bay’s doors, his hands clutching something wrapped in bandages. 

“My name is Keithra” he said, his body swerving to a halt before the taller, full-blooded Galrans; “my father gave me this before he left me at the Garrison... I was thirteen and, even though it’d been hanging in our den all of my life I, I _don’t know_ what it is or what it _means_ ” he furthered whilst unwrapping it. “My dad told me it was gift, a gift left for me by my mother but... he only wrote that down in a note I found in my backpack... and I... I haven’t seen him since...” he added, his eyes rapidly moving in an attempt to quell the tears.

“Do... do _you_ know who I am?”


	10. Revelations...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
> 
> **Warnings include: Hangst... I love him so much and he's just going to vent a bit of exposition to feel better, that's all! Also Galr-angst? Is that a thing?**

Kolivan hadn’t felt quite so _torn_ in many, many vargas...

“Being mated suits you well, Sendak...”

“Whereas attempting to be _civil_ suits you ill, _brother_...”

This, he knew, would end in disaster and yet, with a voice so much like their mother’s whispering through his mind, telling him that trying just _one more time_ could finally mend the bridges between them and strengthen their forces against the Empire, well...

“You are _taller_...”

“ _I_ am no longer the cub that _you_ left behind...”

What did he have to lose?

Sighing, his milky eyes narrowing through the holo-screen, the founding member of the Blade of Marmora tilted his head at Ulaz; “when she rouses, show Princess Allura the way to the Hilt” he stated sagely. “The electromagnetic interference surrounding our base will ensure that Zarkon’s forces are unable to detect you, so ensure that you arrive promptly since the Black Paladin’s bonding with his steed could take cycles we do not have to waste.”

And, with that, he cut off the transmission.

Sneering, his bionic eye flashing angrily, Sendak spun on his heel and promptly marched out of the Bridge with the bewildered younglings (and Coran) staring in his wake.

“ _O_ -kay...” Hunk breathed, his shoulders slumping before, with a deep, steadying breath, he began to slowly, but surely, unravel; “it is _one_ thing to be abducted by a Lion and flown into space to take part in some intergalactic war but _this_? This right here just takes the cake! And, guys? I _love_ cake, you know I do _but_ , right now, I don’t want any!” he ranted whilst Lance and Pidge tried (unsuccessfully) to calm him. 

“No! _No_ , I need to say this” he added; “ _first_ , we nearly lose Shiro and, instead, gain a new Galran pack-mate and a soon-to-be-baby” he said whilst pointing at their Leader’s retreating back (the omega, no doubt, was on his way to Sendak). “ _Second_? Zarkon and this whole _aww-shit-look-behind-you-he’s-found-us-again_ business... And then, _then_ this Ulaz guy, the _same_ guy who’s confessed to chopping off Shiro’s _arm_ , waltzes past our defences and tells Keith that _he’s_ a Galran whose mom works for his _boss_! You know?!”

“Hunk...”

“And now we’re supposed to, I don’t know, just go and meet Galra-dad’s _brother_? A guy who is somehow taller and more imposing than our alpha and the Leader of a militia group?” he huffed, his arm still waving at the Bridge’s doors. “Keith’s locked himself in his room, Sendak’s probably doing the same, the Castle is still on the fritz, none of us have had a good-night’s sleep in what feels like weeks and I... this is all... all _just_...”

“Paladin of Yellow, if I may?” Ulaz cut in, his smooth voice a velvet balm for the frayed nerves of his gathered hosts; “speaking as someone who has been fighting for decophoebes, I can assure you that I know and understand that what we’re asking may seem a step too far, however” he murmured. “The Blade of Marmora is offering you friendship, rest, repairs and information, all things that you’re sorely in need of and, perhaps, all will seem better in a few cycles” he furthered, his lips trying to offer a grin.

“Surely it is worth a try?”


	11. Confrontation...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
> 
>  
> 
> **Warnings include: threats/angst/Zarkon!**

Taking a deep, calming breath, Shiro steadfastly ignored the little voice telling him that going to comfort his mate was what he should be doing or, perhaps, checking on Keith (a boy he thought of as a little brother, no less) and kept walking.

All of this drama, from his mateship and pregnancy to Zarkon being able to track them so easily, was _his_ fault.

He had to do something, had to _fix_ what he could before anything else could go wrong...

“Hey there, girl” he greeted, his eyes gazing upon the calmly sat Black Lion, a whisper of relief ghosting through him when the huge, mecha-cat’s particle barrier dissolved upon his approach; “we’ve got a lot of talking to do to straighten things out, don’t we?” he asked whilst she allowed him on-board.

“So... Zarkon was the first Black Paladin, hmm?” he murmured as he lowered himself into the command-chair; “when he called to you, I felt your longing... you miss him, no... you _miss_ the person who he was, who he used to be” he added softly, his hands gently touching the controls. “And then here I am, greener than grass to this whole Voltron-thing, the Universe is in danger and you just get lumped with me, don’t you?” he sighed. “I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you...”

A low, gentle purr cut him off whilst a feeling of warmth and understanding swaddled him, a coil of energy smoothing across his abdomen in what felt like an apologetic gesture; “heh... don’t worry, the baby and I are fine... I won’t lie though... being jettisoned into space was _real_ scary and, ugh, I wouldn’t like a repeat performance of it, okay?” 

_”Tch... pathetic..._ ”

Blinking, his eyes rounding as his body slumped, Shiro stuttered on his inhale when the cockpit he’d been sat in gave way to a purple landscape awash with stars; “w-what?”

“ _So it is you? **You** are attempting to claim my place, little-omega?_ ”

Spinning, his body now standing and very much without the comfort of Black, the human felt a shudder of primal fear struggle down his spine before he swallowed it and set his shoulders: “Zarkon” he huffed. “What is this place? Why have you brought me here? I...”

“ _Hah! You **dare** question me when it is _you_ who has some explaining to do, _Champion_!” the Galran Emperor roared, his cape billowing out impressively behind as he stalked forward. “ _How did you conceal from the Druids what you are? How have you swayed Sendak, my most _loyal_ subordinate, to side with you? What makes you think that a _child_ like you is worthy to lead Voltron and **what**_...” he snarled, his right hand pointing. “ _Is that a pinprick of quintessence, _Galra_ quintessence, inside of you?! You’re not worthy to carry it!_ ”_

__

__

Nostrils flaring, every last shred of fear that’d been building up inside him fizzled away; “are you threatening my child?” he heard himself ask, his tone relatively neutral but firm and sure in a way that it hadn’t been previously.

“ _Hah! I do more than _merely_ threaten..._ ”

“Threatening the life of my baby isn’t something I’ll forgive” Shiro breathed, his implant (the fact that it was here, the fact that it could _work_ somehow not factoring in to his consciousness) activating whilst he crouched into a battle-stance. “I don’t care that you’re the self-proclaimed ruler of the known Universe and I don’t care about Sendak’s past or your connection to Black” he added, his eyes narrowing when the alpha grunted and snorted at him.

“If I have to fight you to get out of here, to keep them safe, to keep them _with me_ , then so be it” he growled, his shoulders setting. “I’ll fight to my last breath if it means that I can defend and protect my pack, and my pack _very much_ includes Black... not as a possession, not as a weapon but _as_ **pack** ” he snarled. 

“And if takes someone like me having to beat what pack means into you, then so be it!” he shouted whilst rushing forward; “I am _**not**_ afraid of you!”


	12. Redemption...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: see chapter 1.

Head snapping up and away from the gladiator doll he’d been pummelling, Sendak _felt_ the terror of his mate drip through their bond to burn the back of his throat; “what...”

“Sendak! Sendak where the hell are you?!”

Blinking, the Galra was moving before his conscious brain knew where he was heading, the sound of Lance’s voice calling over the Castle’s tannoy-system a mere buzz in the background as he ran towards the Black Lion’s hangar. 

Something was wrong, terribly, horribly wrong...

“I see him! He’s heading towards the Lions’ wing and... yep, Keith’s not too far behind!” Coran added through the speakers, not that the former Commander cared as, at that moment, he was too busy berating himself for allowing his brother’s sudden reintroduction to unsettle him into pushing his responsibilities as a mate to the wayside.

Takashi was only with his Lion to no doubt resolve the bonding issues between him and Black; in all of the chaos which had ensued since Ulaz arrived he and the Paladins had been too caught up in their own worries to ensure that their (stupid, self-sacrificing, _beautiful_ ) Leader wasn’t rushing off to fix things unaided.

“What in the cosmos has happened here?!”

Stumbling to a halt, his bionic eye scanning and re-scanning the _translucent_ cat-mecha, Sendak felt his teeth clack under the stress of his jaw clenching in disbelief; his mate and their child were trapped within the blue, bubble-like force-field inside the huge, metal structure which was ghosting in and out of reality.

“Oh my God...” Keith gasped, his eyes wide and blinking in disbelief; “is... is he? Oh no! Shiro!” he yelled, his body smashing into the blue plating separating them from the Lion. “Shit... _shit_! Coran! Allura! What’s happening?”

There was no way to breach the force-field; he’d tried everything within the Galran arsenal and beyond to crack open the barrier which had kept him from accessing the Red Lion he’d found so many vargas ago...

“I’m not sure” Allura answered, her form no doubt stood upon the Bridge, those keen eyes shifting from the holo-screens she and Katie were accessing to find a solution; “there’s nothing registering on our scanners and none of my father’s notes speak of such an event...”

The Galran continued to stare, his body rigid whilst Keith battered his fists and weapons against the blue honey-comb.

It had been decofeebes since he’d felt so helpless, so lost...

“Hunk! Go get the neutron destabiliser from my lab! It might just...”

This shouldn’t even be happening to him, he had no right to a mate, let alone an omega and the child... to sire a child was a privilege only granted by the Druids, a privilege he’d been denied due to his family ties to the _Blade_...

“Damn-it Pidge! I can’t risk firing that thing in such a confined space! We’ll all be...”

He wasn’t supposed to be here... he was a failed Commander, a joke, a creature that should have been despatched...

“Keith! Watch where you’re swinging that death-stick of yours, man! You nearly took my head off...”

 _Victory or death_... he’d been raised by those words, had risen to greatness through them and yet, now, after setting Lord Zarkon’s law aside, this was his reward; he deserved nothing less...

‘ _Sendak!_ ’

Blinking out of his thoughts, his eyes widening, the full-blood turned his head to openly stare at the Black Lion, his ears twitching; had he imagined it, or had his mate called to him... through his mind, no, through the bond?

‘ _Takashi?_ ’ he tried, his body wholly turning to give the mecha his full attention: ‘ _Takashi... can you hear me? What’s happening? Are you..._ ’

Cutting himself off with a gasp, the Galran suddenly found himself _very much_ removed from the hangar he’d been standing in with every strand of his fur standing on end before he managed to settle himself; “Sendak!”

Spinning on his heels, the star-speckled background seemingly swirling with him, the former Commander did a double-take at the scene before him.

“Traitor!” Zarkon snarled, his cape billowing was he continued to fight with the omega whom (to his credit and the alpha’s ultimate thrill) was virtually matching him blow for blow whilst the Black Lion looked on, its form growling. “First you defile my laws by continuing your pathetic existence after failing me twice and now _this_?!” the Emperor roared, his kick cutting through the air as Shiro expertly flipped out of the way; “how dare you lower yourself to mate with this _lower_ creature, to grant him access to our superior DNA through the _bastard_ you have...”

“ **That is _enough_!!** ” Sendak snarled, his form prowling ominously towards the pair (panting and gasping as they were), the claws of natural hand lengthening threateningly; “you may say anything you like to me, for I have heard enough bile from you to matt my coat with a thousand times over” he hissed. “However, I am no longer interested in you, your corrupted ideals or the ruthless way in which you have been coercing and destroying our people, so be warned” he added, his legs transforming his jog to a full-on sprint.

“I am your puppet no longer and _any_ who dare to disrespect my mate and family will suffer my wrath!”


End file.
